FFrom: Stephen SobotkaJr <scififangargoyle>
Date: Fri Oct 1, 1999 5:24 pm
Subject: MAIN CYCLE BREAKDOWNS - Primer

Okay, now that I have some time to sit down, let me
see if I can frame up what we should/need to do for
Season 3.

For starters, even though I've said we need to keep
things shorter in all of the series, I can already
tell we're going to get a tsunami of ideas for the
Main Cycle. So, just so we can at least make things a
bit fair, I'm recommending that Season 3 have at the
absolute maximum at least 16 to 18 episodes. That's
more than enough to have at least two major arcs or
several smaller ones.

Now as to the focus of those arcs, here's were we
could go with them:

****

"THAILOG'S REVENGE" - A major arc where Thailog
returns as the main villian. His goal, to finally get
back at Goliath and Xanatos and Demona once and for
all. This is after he's been restored to health (or
not, depending on how we want to handle this), and is
going to use his underground contacts to really mess
with Goliath and Co. on the "dirty tricks" level. A
few devices for this:

- Sabotaging the Gargoyles World Council
- Using a groomed underling as a weapon/bait against
the clan (I have three outlines for this "B" arc ready
to submit for comments)
- Attacking the Labarynth to Get the Clones/Destroy a
Cure for the Mutates (this ties in to my "Silence
Speaks" outline on the archive)
- Going after Nightstone Unlimited to force Demona out
in the open or into rejoining the Clan.

These are just some of the ideas, but the end
culmination of this arc would be ending in Thailog's
death or disappearance(?) from the face of TGS for a
while.

"GARGOYLES: RISK OR HARMLESS?" - This arc would build
on the summons Matt Bluestone got during "Seeds of
Change", to go to Washington D.C. to a grand jury
hearing. This could be tied into the Margot Yale group
idea (she could be a "witness" against the gargoyles),
with the Illuminati working behind the scenes.

The prime result would be that somewhere along the
line, a government group would be formed to either to
contact the gargoyles to either set up talks between
humans and them, or to capture them to either have
them locked away or sent somewhere to study. The later
would result in the clan having to hide once more,
while possibly taking a bigger risk going out to
protect the people of manhattan every night.

"DEMONA'S DILEMA" - A semi-minor thing we have to
address is Demona's continued reformation, in the face
of troubles aside from the Government and Thailog.

- Elisa & Goliath's joining (How will she really deal
with that on an ongoing basis?)
- Her relationship with Andrea (If Andrea knew what
she was, would she stay a friend?)
- Garlon's Hunt (His thirst for revenge could touch a
lot of demona's life: Andrea, Angela, Nightstone,
etc.)
- The Gargoyles World Council (Surely, living as long
as she has, she must have had contact with other
clans, or they must have some knowledge of her
actions. How will this affect things if she shows up?)

"GARGOYLES WORLD COUNCIL" - Goliath and Co. have begun
arranging for other clans to come to Japan to meet and
solidify their common bonds so that they as a race
will never be vulnerable again. Some of the points to
address here:

- Ultimate goal? (First Contact with Humans? Working
to better protect their kind? ???)
- Leaders arriving: We need to establish leaders for
the China Clan and any new clan we choose to add (afer
all, Greg did say there was more than just the ones
we've seen so far)
- Problems from without/within: Thailog's sabotage,
news of the Government Group hearing, Demona's
appearance, etc.

SIDE NOTE: A scene must be done, introducing the
various clan leaders, especially Kylie of the
Caladonian Clan (real emotional moment there).

GOLIATH/ELISA RELATIONSHIP - While not to be a major
focus, we do need to show the mating ceremony, and
touch briefly on how it progresses through the season.
a few points on it:

- Elisa's living arrangements: Will she stay in the
apartment, or move to the castle? or what?
- Her involvement revealed: Will Chavez finally learn
about it? (by accident? Investigating on her own)
- Trials & Troubles: Thailog's revenge, Demona's own
feelings, the Government group... will all of this
force a split up (for a while at least), leading them
to reunite by seasons' end?

****

Those are some of the things I've been pondering for a
while since breakdowns started. Now, understand this:
we can either work most of this into two major arcs,
or one major with several small ones... that is
something we need to work on.

So, before anyone else pitches out any more ideas for
outlines, characters, etc., let's get our framework
and direction set FIRST. Once that is in place, then
we can start work with outlines and such.

And again, remember!

QUALITY IS PARAMOUNT! WE ONLY HAVE 16 to 18 EPS TO
WORK WITH!

I'll comment when I see what's what after this.

Maintain and Check Six!

Stephen R. Sobotka, Jr.
Head of TGS
Head of Breakdowns, Season 3